Researchers at Greifswald teaching hospital in northern Germany said on Friday they had discovered the cause of the rare blood clot problems in some recipients of the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine, public broadcaster Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR) reported. account.
The study showed how the vaccine caused blood clots in the brain in a few patients. The finding means that targeted treatment can be developed to prevent complications.
The success was due to collaboration between Greifswald hospital, Paul Ehrlich Institute (PEI) state health governor, as well as Austrian doctors – a nurse there died of brain thrombosis after being vaccinated with the AstraZeneca injection .
The researchers confirmed that treatment would only be possible in patients with blood clots, rather than as a preventive treatment.
The information was shared with hospitals across Europe.
AstraZeneca kicks back on track in Europe
Germany, as well as several other EU member states, stopped using the AstraZeneca vaccine on Monday following reports of rare blood clots.
On Thursday the European Medicines Agency (EMA) said there were no confirmatory links between the vaccine and the blood clots, based on the information available. They also said the benefits of the injection outweighed any potential risks.
Germany was ready to resume vaccinations with the English-Swedish injection on Friday. By Thursday Germany had delivered more than 10 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines, including the AstraZeneca Covishield vaccine.